Regular transportation of international workforce to remote mountainous location

Objective

Advise on the aviation infrastructure required to transport an international workforce of 8,000 to a mountainous region of Sierra Leone, where they will carry out the four-year development of an iron ore mine 220 kilometres inland. With very poor road conditions this is a long and hazardous journey and needs to be carried out in the safest, most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.

Activity

Trans Global Projects first evaluated the feasibility of building an airstrip close to the mine development.

An optimum site was selected but topographical and regulatory limitations ruled out the possibility of large aircraft flying directly from Europe. Instead personnel would fly to the airstrip from the international airport in the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown.

The study also calculated weekly passenger numbers with regard to shift patterns and passenger flow through the international airport. Substantial cost-savings were identified when compared to previous transport options and innovative suggestions increased local involvement in this vital area of the project.